Source for 38 Special wadcutter brass?

[Lead Freak]

Does anyone know of a source for new 38 Special wadcutter brass? I've never seen it available at Starline, and my searches come up empty.

[singleshot]

I've always loaded wadcutter boolits in any 38 spec brass I have. Why would the brass be different?

[Guesser]

I use Remington R-P head stamp cases for my WC target rounds. They are the thinnest walled cases. I din't remember ever hearing of cases especially designed for wad cutters.

[frankenfab]

Don't know of a source, but here's an explanation. See post 17

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?156622-75-000-Wadcutters-in-a-Model-27

[guncheese]

not that i would really know
but could it be that brass that has the crimp ring at 2 spots along the case? or 1 ring?
hummm picture...

84700

[cainttype]

I can only suggest that the brass you refer too was double cannelured as an identifying mark from the factory. It's common for different factory loads to use cannelures on the case that way.
I believe the idea of the post you're referring too was to keep things consistent. Varying brass from different manufactures, and production runs, causes the same problems in handguns as it does in rifles. It's just easier to discern a sudden 1" problem with your favorite rifle at 100 yards than it is to recognize the 1/4" that would translate into at 25 yards with your wheelgun.
Consistency in loading, both components and technique, is the path to success after we've selected the proper components. Beginning with good quality brass is important for optimum results.

[frankenfab]

"Wadcutter brass has a longer straight untapered case wall than the standard case. This allows the deep seated wadcutter bullet to not hit the thicker wall of the case toward the case head. This can cause the loaded case to bulge and the bullet to be damaged. This also gives an even case tension on the entire length of the bullets. Wadcutter brass can be distinguished from regular brass by the double crimp, as clearly shown in TexasFlyboys photos.

Don't use wadcutter brass for higher pressure loads.

Factory 38 Special match (wadcutter) ammo comes in these cases. I don't recall wadcutter brass being available by itself.

The standard match load was 2.7/BE which gave a velocity of 650 - 700 fps. This is good for either hollow base or solid base wadcutter bullets.

When the powder charged is upped to 3.5/BE, you are in the full charge/service velocity of 800 to 850 fps. DO NOT shoot hollow based wadcutters at this higher charge, as you are likely to blow off a bullet skirt which will be left behind in your barrel as an obstruction. Use solid based wadcutter only.

This is stuff you need to know if you are going to load 38 Special wadcutter ammo.

In the days of yore wadcutter bullets were cast from 1-30 or even 1-40 alloy, so they don't have to be hard. While not a tumble lube fan, this is one place where it truly shines."

[Hardcast416taylor]

MY GOSH! I WAS LOADING .38 Spcl. WADCUTTERS IN THE WRONG BRASS FOR COMPETITION FOR THE LAST 30 ODD YEARS!!!Robert

[dondiego]

MY GOSH! I WAS LOADING .38 Spcl. WADCUTTERS IN THE WRONG BRASS FOR COMPETITION FOR THE LAST 30 ODD YEARS!!!Robert

Were you winning?

[Love Life]

This one is good.

[cainttype]

I decided to check a few measurements after my regular coffee routine.
I have plenty of 38 Spcl brass on hand and easily sorted out the different cannelure types from the Winchester and W-W headstamps. All brass was fired in the same M-14 S&W. Micrometer readings on the OD of casings at .379 consistently accepted the .359- pin guage (max) to a depth of .630, +/- a couple thousandths... I see no difference after comparing several of each from 5 different marks (including 2 lower cannelured versions being discussed as wadcutter type) and several non-cannelured examples.

[BruceB]

One nice thing about using our more-common solid-base wadcutters (as opposed to the hollow-base factory bullets) is that, in bullets of equal weight, our cast solid-base bullets are SHORTER.

This means that the bullet doesn't extend as deeply into the case when seated flush as our Model 52 S&Ws require.

"Not extending as deeply" means that the base of the bullet in non-wadcutter brass usually is not much affected by the the thicker case walls. I loaded tens of thousands of wadcutter rounds in our Bullseye-shooting days, in any .38 brass that came to hand. The results (as tested with a LEE machine rest) were excellent. I did use brass of identical type for each batch of handloads.

It would be nice to find a source for "wadcutter brass", but if a source is found, remember that the two types of brass should be SEGREGATED, due to both the different capacities AND the thinner walls at the head of the wadcutter case.

Is this a complication that we really NEED? For my part, I prefer to avoid it. If match shooting was still a factor in my loading, I'd make the effort. As it is, my .38 wadcutter loads will be put up in regular brass.

[dudel]

The only WC I've loaded in 38spl (without regard to case), have been HBWC. As such, I never load those to a very high pressure as you stand a chance of leaving part of the skirt in the barrel (or so I've been told). In any event, I always load them as target load, so there's not much point in making them extra hot barn burners. If the hollow base got swaged down a bit in the "wrong" case, the thin skirt seemed to obdurate properly. Accuracy was VERY good with the HBWC in any 38 spl case, at least for me.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Were you winning?

Actually, yes I won a "few" competitions in PPC style shooting and I used about any .38 Spcl. case I came into contact with. My S&W model 14 didn`t seem to care as it was far more accurate than I was, from time to time.Robert

[Guesser]

My Colt Officers Models Target, Special and Match shoot very well with mixed cases, but I standardized on R-P some years back for purposes of convenience and I use Remington HBWC. MMMMMMGOOOODDD!!!!!!!!